Honda Red Riders Take on Washougal and Canard Update

The Washougal National in Washougal, WA, hosted round eight of the 2011 AMA Motocross Championship this weekend, and the Honda Red Riders battled through a tough weekend of racing on their CRF250Rs and CRF450Rs.

Trey Canard was the sole rider for the American Honda Racing squad, and after making an impressive return to racing last weekend by finishing third overall at Spring Creek, Canard had reason to be confident heading into his second Motocross event of his shortened season. He got a good start in moto one and was among the front-runners as he settled into third position on the opening lap. He maintained that position from start to finish to score his second podium in two rounds. Unfortunately, after getting a great start in moto two, Canard crashed hard while in third place and injured his leg, which drew out the red flags for the race. Unable to continue racing, he was taken to a local hospital for medical attention and released later that evening.

"Unfortunately, I suffered a new fracture to my left femur in the crash," said Canard. "It's definitely disappointing to get hurt, especially as I was feeling so good and loving the Washougal track. I guess the positive in the situation is, I'm glad it happened now and not later in the season as I have five months to make a full recovery and return to racing for the start of the 2012 Supercross Championship."

TwoTwo Motorsports Honda rider Chad Reed headed into round eight still feeling the effects from his huge crash last weekend at Spring Creek, where he left with a six-point lead in the championship. Aboard his TwoTwo Motorsports/American Honda Racing–prepared CRF450R, Reed suffered a bad start in moto one-he rounded the opening lap in 14th-yet he staged a hard charge to take the checkers in seventh spot. In the second race, he got a much better start and finished just shy of the podium in fourth place to earn fourth overall. Reed relinquished two spots in the championship standings over the weekend and now sits nine points behind the new points leader.

"I didn't have a lot in the tank this week," said Reed. "I'm definitely still feeling the effects of last weekend's crash. I'm looking forward to the upcoming weekends off to rest and recover before Unadilla. I might be a little wounded but I'm far from out. I'm confident I will bounce back to my usual self at the next round."

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